Caleb
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "faithful" or "whole-hearted".
Roughly 313,085 people in the United States go by the first name Caleb, which ranks #49 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Caleb today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caleb births was 2002 (11,684 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Carolyn (311,029).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caleb. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Caleb with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Caleb is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 653 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
313K
~ 1 in 1,095 Americans
Peak year
2002
11,684 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#49
Tracked since 1880
Census
Caleb in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 264,111 people with the first name Caleb, which placed it at #205 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#205
National first-name rank
People counted
264K
264,111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
87.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caleb
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caleb is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.5%) and Black (9.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Caleb described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Caleb at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.8% · 184,419
- Hispanic or Latino11.5% · 30,387
- Black or African American9.6% · 25,331
- Two or more races5.8% · 15,193
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 6,752
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2,029
Gender
Gender distribution for Caleb
Out of the 319,707 babies given the name Caleb since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Caleb as a male name
- Ranked #49 in 2024
- 5,766 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2002 (11,665 births)
Caleb as a female name
- Ranked #10,398 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (60 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caleb appears almost entirely male. Of the 264,107 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Caleb: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caleb from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 110,296 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caleb by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Caleb during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calebs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Caleb, while Wyoming, District of Columbia, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6,200 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caleb
The name Caleb has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "kelev," which means "dog" or "faithful companion." The name was initially associated with loyalty and devotion.
Caleb is a prominent biblical name, appearing in the Old Testament. In the Book of Numbers, Caleb was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to scout the land of Canaan. Along with Joshua, he was among the only two spies who remained faithful and encouraged the Israelites to conquer the Promised Land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caleb can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to the 3rd century BCE. The name appears in various ancient Hebrew texts and manuscripts, indicating its widespread usage among the Hebrew people.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Caleb. In the 17th century, Caleb Quotlequah (c. 1624-1690) was a prominent leader and diplomat of the Chickasaws, a Native American tribe. He played a crucial role in negotiating treaties and fostering relationships between his tribe and European settlers.
Caleb Cushing (1800-1879) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 35th United States Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce. He played a significant role in the acquisition of Alaska from Russia in 1867.
Caleb Bradham (1867-1934) was an American businessman best known as the inventor of Pepsi-Cola, one of the world's most popular soft drinks. He created the beverage in 1893 and initially marketed it as a digestive aid and energy booster.
Caleb Carr (born 1955) is an American novelist and military historian. He is best known for his novels "The Alienist" and "The Angel of Darkness," which were set in late 19th century New York City and explored the early days of psychological profiling in criminal investigations.
Caleb Plant (born 1992) is an American professional boxer who has held multiple world championships in the super middleweight division. He gained recognition for his impressive performances and engaging persona both inside and outside the ring.
People
Caleb + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caleb as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caleb: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caleb?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 313,085 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caleb going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,095 US residents.
Is Caleb a common name?
We classify Caleb as "Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 319,707 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caleb most popular?
The single biggest year for Caleb was 2002, when 11,684 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caleb is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caleb in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 264,111 people with the name Caleb, or 87.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #205 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Caleb in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Caleb?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caleb appears almost entirely male. Of the 264,107 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Caleb?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caleb is White at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.5%) and Black (9.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Caleb most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caleb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (184,419 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Caleb in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caleb a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Caleb in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Caleb still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caleb in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Caleb can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Caleb?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Caleb at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.